[coldtea]

>I don't think that fear and anxiety are exactly the same thing. (fear being a very basic response to a very concrete (perceived) threat, while anxiety is more diffuse, constant, covering larger timeframes)

That could just be a historical product of the English language. Other languages don't necessarily discriminate this way between fear and anxiety.

E.g. we can equally talk about someone "fearing" they have forgot the stove open or "being anxious" about it in this here parts.